Tooth cleaner



0. VECCHIO TOOTH CLEANER July 17, 1956 Filed June 9, 1952 IN V EN TOR.

BY m

United States PatentC TOOTH CLEANER Orazio Vecchio, Philadelphia, Pa. Application June 9, 1952, Serial No. 292,417 1 Claim. (Cl. 132-91) My invention relates to a new and useful tooth cleaner and has for one of its objects to provide an article of manufacture which can be employed for removing particles of food or other foreign substances from between contiguous teeth and brushing the surfaces thereof.

Another object of this invention is to combine an arm with a toothbrush to form a crotch to hold the ends of a piece of dental floss, thread, rubber band of the like in separated relation across the intervening space for use in dislodging food or other particles from the interstices of teeth.

A further object of the present invention is to construct the toothbrush handle or head with an apertured protuberance having a plural sided socket to receive a similarly shaped base end of an arm which is thereby removably mounted on the toothbrush to hold one end of a tightly stretched dislodging element having the other end attached to the outer end of the brush head element whereby said dislodging element may be applied to the spaces between contiguous teeth.

A still further object of the invention is to provide suitable formations on the outer ends of the toothbrush head and arm for temporary securement of the dislodging element thereto whereby the resultant article can be selectively utilized as a brush and particle dislodger having a single handle.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claim.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my tooth cleaner looking at the back of the brush element and illustrating the article ready for use.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 1 with a portion of the handle broken off.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a slight modification.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of Fig. 4 with the arm removed and looking at the back of the brush element.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 65 of Fig.5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the detachable arm employed in the modified form of the article.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, reference being first had to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the numeral 10 represents the toothbrush element including a handle 11 for the head 12 carrying the bristles 13. On what will be considered the back of the brush element 10 is formed a longitudinally tapering protuberance 14 with the thicker end towards the outer end of the head 12 and the smaller end emerging with the surface of said brush element. This protuberance may be wholly located on the back of the head 12 or wholly on the back of the handle 11 adjas 2,754,833 Ce Patented July 17, 1956 cent the head or partially on both the head and handle. Within the protuberance is a plural sided socket 15 open at the thicker or base end of said protuberance. In other words said socket is to be of appropriate shape other than round for a purpose to be explained below.

An arm 16 includes a base end 17, of the same cross sectional shape as the socket, an angularly outwardly projecting extension 18 and an upright limb 19 which, when the arm is mounted in the socket 15, will be spaced an appreciable distance from the back of the brush head and substantially parallel therewith. Upon assembling the arm in the brush element a crotch is formed to hold the dislodging element 20, such as dental floss, thread, a rubber band or the equivalent relatively soft and somewhat compressible material. The ends of said dislodging element 20 are temporarily attached to the outer ends of the brush head and arm by inserting said ends in notches 21 and 22 in the brush head and arm, respectively, and wrapping the ends about the supporting parts or in any other appropriate manner to retain the dislodging element in position across the intervening space between the brush head and arm. The dislodging element can be made of proper length to bridge the space between the brush head and arm with a knot at each end whereby said dislodging element can be inserted in the notches without the necessity of wrapping or tying the ends about said brush head and arm. Such an arrangement will permit the packaging of a number of prepared dislodging elements ready for use when desired.

In that form of the article illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 the toothbrush element 10a also includes a handle 11a for the head 12a carrying the bristles 13a and on the back of the brush element is a protuberance 14a having a longitudinal socket 150. The socket 15a in this particular instance is in the form of a dovetail rabbet to receive the base element 17a of the arm 16a. In addition to the base element, which is in the form of a dovetail tenon to fit the socket, the arm 16a includes the angulariy outwardly projecting extension 18a and an upright limb 1%. Any type of dislodging element 20 previously described can be employed by fastening the ends to the brush head and the outer end of the arm through the medium of the notches 21a and 22a in the brush head and arm, respectively.

The notches may be positioned from front to back of the respective parts in which they are formed, Fig. l, or transversely thereof as shown in Fig. 4.

The arm is placed in its socket so that the limb portion is spaced an appreciable distance from the back of the brush head to provide the crotch for the dislodging element and the non-circular cross-sectional shape of the base element of said arm and its socket holds the arm against rotation.

When the article is to be packed, the arm may be disconnected in order to conserve space and subsequently reassembled for use or the arm may be temporarily left off if there are no particles of or foreign substances from between the teeth.

In actual practice the arm is mounted in the socket provided therefor in the protuberance on the back of the brush element and the dislodging element attached to the outer ends of the brush head and arm. By grasping the handle of the article and turning the same so that said arm can be inserted in the mouth behind the teeth the dislodging element can be directed to any desired location and forced into a space between contiguous teeth and then reciprocated lengthwise of the dislodging element to work loose the undesirable substance and finally remove the same. After that has been done, the device may be manipulated in an appropriate manner to brush either or both surfaces of the teeth.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

A tooth cleaner comprising a brush element including a handle with a head on one end thereof, the end of the head Where it joins the handle constituting the inner end of said head and the opposite end thereof being the outer end of said head which is located a considerable distance from the handle, a protuberance on the back of said head at the inner end and extending longitudinally of the head and terminating short of the outer end thereof, said protuberance having a polygonal socket therein paralleling the head and opening towards the outer end of the head, an arm including a polygonal base element removably inserted in said socket whereby said arm is held in a fixed position and a limb offset from the base element and extending outwardly in spaced parallel relation to the head, said head and limb having notches in their outer ends, and a dislodging element bridging the space between the head and limb and having portions removably positioned in said notches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 725,462 Luallen Apr. 14, 1903 1,368,799 Hogarty Feb. 15, 1921 1,485,519 Nelson Mar. 4, 1924 1,506,417 Donals Aug. 26, 1924 2,175,278 Orebaugh Oct. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 384,416 France Apr. 8, 1908 

